Reiji returned home to a silence louder than noise.
The Takasawa estate was more fortress than house. Minimalist marble halls, glass panels, and long corridors that made you feel small. At the center sat his father—Takashi Takasawa. The architect of the family empire. The man who expected brilliance and crushed anything less.
"You're late to the quarterly review meeting," his father said without looking up.
Reiji took his seat wordlessly.
Around the long table sat his siblings. All of them older. All of them hungry.
Reiji was the youngest. The outsider. The one who didn't play by the family's rules.
The review began. Profits. Dividends. Strategy sheets. As always, it was less about business and more about dominance. Every sibling had a stake. Every presentation was a performance, masked in formality but fueled by ambition.
When Reiji's name came up on the slide, one of his brothers smirked. "Still coasting on old academic awards? When do we see actual leadership?"
He said nothing. He didn't need to. His father didn't care about their barbs. He only cared about results.
Reiji had always chosen to stay out of the war. But now, something had shifted.
Miko's words echoed in his mind: You forgot what it feels like to be safe.
He realized he wasn't fighting to win this war. Not yet. But maybe he wanted to.
Maybe for once, he wanted to matter on his own terms.